Today, a section of Zhejiang Middle Road in the 1930s has been "copied" into the Shanghai Songjiang Chatun Film and Television Base. This section of Zhejiang Middle Road intersects with the famous Nanjing East Road cross, cross street is always full of style, from south to north, from east to west, Xianshi Department Store, Yong'an Department Store, Seventh Heaven Hotel, Shen Dacheng Dim Sum Shop, Sanyang South Goods, Lotte Tea House, Kelly Hotel, Shenchang Foreign Firm... Famous shops and buildings are gathered, and the architectural forms are rich, so it has become a classic background for interpreting the legendary story of old Shanghai.
Street view of East Nanjing Road in the studio city
Zhejiang Middle Road and Nanjing East Road in the studio city
Street view of today's Middle Zhejiang Road
Now Zhejiang Middle Road, Nanjing East Road junction
Although the basic pattern of the intersection of Zhejiang Middle Road in reality has not changed, but many buildings have changed their old appearance, Xianshi and Yong'an two major companies have long been renamed Shanghai Fashion Company and Hualian Commercial Building (later restored to the name of Yong'an Department Store) and still become the iconic shops of Nanjing East Road Pedestrian Street, Shen Dacheng Dim Sum Shop, Sanyang South Goods Store is no longer the appearance of the past, and the original "One Lotte" tea house opposite them has become Century Square, often singing and dancing music, making the original crowded intersection more popular It is as if all the people in Shanghai are gathered here, and there will always be endless flow of people.
Today's Shanghai Fashion Company
Now Zhejiang Middle Road, Nanjing East Road Junction (Shen Dacheng Dim Sum)
Now Zhejiang Middle Road Street View (Sanyang South Goods Store)
But what Shanghainese should not forget is that at about 1:00 p.m. on August 23, 1937, the Japanese army planes brazenly dropped a bombshell over the Xianshi Company, killing more than 800 innocent pedestrians on the spot, which was the bloodiest and most tragic scene on this section of the road. The old and new Zhejiang Middle Road are often superimposed in people's minds, and Zhejiang Middle Road has become the "classic" of Shanghai Road.
Street view of present-day Zhonglukou in Zhejiang
Zhejiang Middle Road starts from Yan'an East Road in the south, passes through Songjiang Lane, Beihai Road, Guangdong Road, Fuzhou Road, Hankou Road, Jiujiang Road, Nanjing East Road, Xiangfan Lane, Tianjin Road, Ningbo Road, Beijing East Road, Xiamen Road and other roads through Zhejiang Road Bridge north to South Suzhou Road. The total length is about 1331 meters. The northern section of this road was originally a dirt road outside the second racecourse circle of the public concession, built in 1861, and in 1866 this road was extended to Fuzhou Road and renamed Zhejiang Road, and in 1945 it was renamed Zhejiang Middle Road.
Map of Zhejiang Middle Road in 1948
Because the road intersects with the middle section of Nanjing East Road, it is increasingly prosperous with the commercial development of Nanjing East Road with its unique geographical conditions. By the beginning of the 20th century, there were playgrounds such as Louwailou and Tianwaitian, theaters and theaters such as Xinxin Stage, teahouses such as Sunrise Tower and Juxing Garden, as well as many large and small hotels and shops.
Old scenery of Zhejiang Middle Road (Shen Dacheng dim sum store, Sanyang South Goods Store)
Street view of Middle Zhejiang Road in the 1980s
In the 1930s, with the two major department stores of Xianshi and Yong'an standing north and south, the two towers were separated by the road, and the 22-storey Seventh Heavenly Ballroom was built, and two sky bridges connected Yong'an Company and the Seventh Heavenly Dance Hall, which was even more bustling and prosperous. From north to south, lacquer, iron, hardware, and leather are gathered into a city. Restaurants, hostels, shoe shops... In this period, Zhejiang Middle Road became one of the commercial districts second only to Nanjing Road. Many film and television dramas such as "Stage Sisters", "Sentinel under Neon Lights", "July Flowing Fire", "Midnight" and so on have been here, or have filmed heavy scenes with this as the background, leaving images of different periods and becoming an image "archive" for people to interpret the history of Zhejiang Middle Road.
Street view of Zhejiang Middle Road in the film and television city
Street scenes of Nanjing East Road and Zhejiang Middle Road in the film and television city
Nanjing East Road and Zhejiang Middle Road junction in the studio city
The intersection of Nanjing East Road and Zhejiang Middle Road in the studio city
Street view of Zhejiang Middle Road in the film and television base
Stills from the movie "July Flowing Fire" (set in the Seventh Heaven Building)
Nanjing East Road and Zhejiang Middle Road junction in the movie "July Flowing Fire"
The northern end of Zhejiang Middle Road starts at Zhejiang Road Bridge. Now the bridge has also become a "classic", which is imitated in the film and television base. Built in 1908, the upper part of the bridge is a fish belly steel truss, and the lower part is a gravity abutment with a wooden pile foundation, which is an important passage connecting the north and south of the Suzhou River. From the side, the entire bridge body is really like a fish skeleton with fish flesh removed, lying on the Suzhou Creek, like a "landmark" revealing the characteristics and charm of that era. Film and television dramas such as "Deep Love, Rainy Mist" starring Zhao Wei have interpreted the bridge from different angles with thick and rich historical charm.
Present-day Zhejiang Middle Road Street View (Zhejiang Middle Road Bridge)
Street view of zhejiang middle road (hardware street)
Zhejiang Middle Road Bridge in the studio city
To say that the biggest change in Zhejiang Middle Road is from Jiujiang Road to Fuzhou Road. Originally, this was once the "Zunqingli", "Funingli" and other Shikumen Lanes, along the street full of women's shoe shops, so it is called "small garden", and now all have been replaced by new high-rise buildings, "Shunxingzhai "Old Banzhai" Hotel, "Cai Tongde Chinese Medicine Store" and other "famous brands" although retained, but both the decoration and the layout of the hall have been different from the past. From north to south, Zhongfu Antique City, Liheyuan Tea Restaurant, Gudian Tea House, 100-meter Champs Hotel... Lined up, this section of Zhejiang Middle Road reveals a fashionable and modern commercial atmosphere.
A small garden shoe store restored and rebuilt on Tianjin Road
Street view of present-day Middle Zhejiang Road (Hankou Junction)
After crossing Fuzhou Road, Zhejiang Middle Road is almost at the end. Built in 1905, the old Banzhai Hotel has been renovated and welcomed with a new look; the original site of the former Fuzhou Road Vegetable Farm has been transformed into an all-season hotel, an 85-degree bakery and a Lianhua supermarket. Opposite, the century-old shop Wang Bao and the restaurant and the Zhejiang cinema and other old-fashioned buildings still have charm.
Street view of zhejiang middle road (former site of Fuzhou Road vegetable market)
Old photo of Fuzhou Road vegetable market
Street view of today's Middle Zhejiang Road (Old Banzhai built in 1862)
Built in 1930 by the famous Hungarian architect Hudak, the appearance of the Spanish court style of the Zhejiang cinema is more concerned with the memories of generations, this cinema has been repaired and rebuilt several times, was once the first three-dimensional cinema in the central district of Shanghai, and now still playing movies, it is no wonder to become one of the protected buildings in Shanghai.
Street view of Zhejiang Middle Road (Zhejiang Cinema)
The latest poster of Zhejiang Cinema
It is also worth mentioning that 112 Zhejiang Middle Road opposite the theater was a secret contact point between the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Military Commission in early 1928, when it was a grocery store downstairs to cover the staff upstairs. Today, it is a private house and has been turned into a fruit shop.
Street view of zhejiang middle road (built in 1927 as an old house)
At the southernmost point of Zhejiang Middle Road, there used to be a green-roofed mosque, which was built during the Guangxu Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty and was called the "Liuma Road Prayer Temple" during the concession period, also known as the "Foreign Temple", which was one of the places where early Muslims in Shanghai held prayers. The mosque has risen and fallen several times and is still faintly visible, but it is still a favorite place for Muslims to gather, because there are also mosque restaurants.
Street view of Zhejiang Middle Road (photographed in 2008)
The architecture of Zhejiang Middle Road is colorful, the story of Zhejiang Middle Road is ups and downs, and it is no accident that Zhejiang Middle Road has become a "classic".